To get at the nails in the board above, shove a flat pry bar up under it and gently pry the board outward. In most cases, this will pop up the nailhead, so you can pull it with your hammer claw. If you run into a stubborn nail that won’t move easily, don’t use brute force and risk splitting the good board. Instead, slip a hacksaw blade behind the siding and cut the nail (Photo 2).You can’t get the new board in unless you pull the remaining shank of the cut nail (Photo 3).
Consider purchasing supplies personally to save money. Ask the painter for a bid that separates labor and materials. Then explain that you'll purchase the materials and ask for a list of exactly what will be needed to complete the job. Caulking, for example, is an extra supply commonly used to fill any cracks or damaged areas in your walls -- and one that might be overlooked in an incomplete list.
Hello, I have a sad situation to share -- a friend of mine who is a very good painter, experienced too, fell off a tall ladder that did not have "boots" on it. (I've never seen those.) Anyway, do you think he should have asked for boots before painting? Possibly it was a situation where he was shy to ask because he wanted the job... (I don't know all the details.)

Al was quick to respond to our inquiries, he was really accommodating to our needs and did a great job. We needed a part of our wall patched up after some water damage. Al gave us a good quote and was willing to work around our schedule and get the job done quickly. He was really professional and courteous. Would recommend him for any job you need!

If your home was built before 1979, the paint might contain lead, which is extremely hazardous to children age 6 and younger. Call your local public health department for information on how to check for lead and handle lead paint safely. For a free booklet on dealing with lead paint, contact the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at www.epa.gov/lead.
I managed commercial construction projects for many years, have built and remodeled several properties, and never once have I encountered any of these scams. The tone of this article is deeply troubling. The author seems to be saying that ALL painting contractors are inherently dishonest, and that has not been my experience. The underlying advice here is sound: get it all in writing and cover as many contingencies as possible--so pointing out potential pitfalls like coat coverage is helpful. But do that in the spirit of clear communication of expectations, not with the expectation that the person you are hiring will try to cheat you at every turn. Not every contractor takes outrageous advantage of change orders; not every contractor will sneak past necessary preparation and/or repairs. Contractors of all sorts get a bad rap as it is; reinforcing a stereotype with articles written from this point of view just seems unproductive. Watering down the paint 50%? It will not cover. I am a contract painter and found that most people that I make a contract with immediately try to change the deal and get more than they are paying for. Sometimes, I let them cheat me as they may have other work that I wish to do but other times I put my foot down. I try to get the client to look at what I have done each and everyday if I am going from room to room. I cannot do this If I spray the entire project at once. Even when I have them inspect my work, they often just do not tell the truth and wish to scam me the contractor for more and more while paying the same as the original contract. Most people have not a clue how much work is involved in painting a house and just assume that the painter rolls out the work with no prep, sealing off the place to protect things that are not painted. All of my contracts state that if anything is in the way like babies, dogs, cars, plants and furniture that I cannot proceed and that it is their responsibility to move this stuff. I always seem to be turned into a furniture mover and never get paid to wrench my back. Fact is most people try to rob the contractor and this article tries to make it seem that the contractor is robbing the homeowners. My sister is a prime example of this as she always goes for the lowest bid yet expects a world class job. This means if you pay $500 for a two day paint job do not expect the contractor to live at your home for two weeks and make only $500.
So sad that Angie's List requires the contractor be notified!! They have lost me as a client. If I'm dissatisfied and want to give an "F" rating (question/workers...I SHOULD NOT be intimidated into passing up an opportunity to explain my experience! There is NO WAY my contractor got an Aplus rating from over five hundred people....so someone was lying....yet I can't report that without the contractor knowing it? REALLY? When coverage is difficult to estimate, add more rather than less when doing DIY wall painting. You can always pour the leftover back into cans. For large jobs, use the bucket and a roller screen rather than a roller tray. It’s much faster to load your roller with the screen than to use a roller pan. Simply dunk the roller into the paint bucket, then roll it along the screen until it stops dripping.

You can watch all the DIY YouTube videos you want and still not achieve that elusive, professional finish. Certain skills can't be taught; instead, they're learned through experience and practice. The painting professionals on the Handy platform know the tricks of the trade that'll leave your home looking its best. It's skills like these that allow your residential home painters to get your job done quickly and cheaply, without compromising on quality. Book your home painters through Handy, and you'll be connected with top-rated, reviewed professionals in your area. Painting and decorating might look easy on an online tutorial, but it can cost you an awful lot of time and money to discover that it isn't. Don't gamble with the way your house looks: book a professional house painter through Handy today and achieve the look you deserve.

to be the devils advocate i have been a building contractor 20 of the last 30 yrs. i do know that if you go to a higher sheen of paint and or darker colors then any imperfections in the walls will show up much more dramatically…therefore the painter or a good drywall finisher is needed to prepare the walls extensively. this could cause more expenses…for it takes a lot of time to prep walls (smooth walls..not textured walls) and this cost has to be absorbed.

Specify whether the contractor or you will supply the paint. Check Consumer Reports' paint ratings: In its tests, some relatively inexpensive paints performed better than more expensive paints and cost $10 to $20 less per gallon. But keep in mind that most paints will resist cracking, peeling, mold and mildew. Who does the painting — and how well they do it — is more important than what's in the bucket.
Stacee, I agree with you completely, from adding water to latex paint to taking whites from job to job. This article makes all painters look like scam artists. You get what you pay for people! There is no denying that there are scammers out there but in my experience, most painters are under paid any ways so if you want a good paint job, you are going to pay for it. If you just want a new color on your walls real quick, and that is what you pay for then that's what you pay for people. Most painters get the crap end of the stick and are left with making an entire house look good when it took a lot more than a painter to build the house in the first place. Good painters do not get enough credit. They are not all scammers who are cutting corners!
I did go with the highest bidder and it did not matter. They did a shoddy job and threatened to take me to court when I pointed out mistakes that they made based on their work standards stated on the quote. I have not paid them yet, just filed a complaint with the BBB. No money down asked, no contract signed. The boss stated I have to high of expectations just because I live in a 121 year old house!
You are right on with this - why do people leave switch plates on when it's just so easy to take them off? Another thing that happened to us - we had the popcorn ceiling taken off and the ceiling painted white. When the job was done and I later went to change out all the fixtures/fans, they had left every fixture in place, so there was a large patch of popcorn and unpainted ceiling left behind - it just didn't dawn on me to specify that they take those down before scraping and painting. It was kind of a mess.

Every home has details that can be accentuated for amazing looking visual appeal and first impressions. The key is to not make the wrong details stand out. Entryways, windows, shutters and other details on the home can be painted to make their design noticeable. However features such as gutters, downspouts, external air conditioning systems, unevenly proportioned windows and protruding garage doors should not be completed to draw attention to them as this will provide a negative results.

Some contractors work on time and material others on a firm contract. I would never hire the former and am leary of the latter. A contractor may low-ball a bid to get the job planning to make a killing on change orders. If you say good morning to them, they charge you extra for that. If the contract is not very, very specific and extensively fleshed out or if they display their change order schedule prominently on top, show them the door.

If less than half the old paint is left, however, it may be worth stripping it all off. Guertin gets rid of stubborn remnants using shrouded grinders (like the PaintShaver), infrared paint strippers (such as the Speedheater), or chemical strippers (like Multi-Strip), then smooths the wood with a course or two of sanding. When siding (or bank accounts) can't take the shock of a total strip job, Rich O'Neil, of Masterwork Painting in Bedford, Massachusetts, has successfully hidden rough, well-adhered paint under Peel Bond, a thick primer.

You can save a bundle by doing the labor yourself. The biggest DIY expense is paint. Other expenses include buying or renting supplies and equipment, like caulk, primer, brushes, rollers, tarps and ladders or scaffolding. Freeman advises applying paint with brushes, not a sprayer. “If you overspray all the window frames and overspray your shingles and your sidewalks and the brick on the front of the house, you do damage that is not easily fixed,” he says.
A fresh coat of paint makes everything it touches seem brand new. But such new beginnings cost real money. Professional painters charge around $4,000 for labor and materials to paint the exterior of a 2,500-square-foot, two-story home and roughly $5,500 for the interior. Painters’ rates may range from $20 to $60 an hour, but around $40 is typical in urban areas. Our consultation process is easy, informative, specific to your project and headache-free. With all the colors, shades, tones, and tints to choose from these days, it can be overwhelming to choose just the right color for your home. 360° Painting Cleveland can help you to get assistance from a professional in-home color consultant to determine the colors that would look best in your home and fit your décor or objectives. Once you’ve narrowed down the color group, you can test your final color selection by using one of the following options:
"Kevin and his father did excellent work on my house! I couldn’t be more satisfied. They were punctual and very professional. Despite it raining, he was still able to come and get the work done in the time frame given. Besides doing the requested job, they were more than happy to help me with a few minor jobs here and there. They even went ahead and painted some areas that could use touch ups that weren’t included in the job. I’ll definitely use them again for any future projects and will recommend them to friends and family."

More recently, professional painters are responsible for all preparation prior to painting. All scraping, sanding, wallpaper removal, caulking, drywall or wood repair, patching, stain removal, filling nail holes or any defects with plaster or putty, cleaning, taping, preparation and priming are considered to be done by the professional contracted painter.

Hi Donnie, Thanks for your comment! We would be happy to help you connect with a fencing pro to give you an estimate on your project. You can submit a request to our pros here: www.homeadvisor.com, browse a list of local pros here: http://www.homeadvisor.com/c.html, or send your info to [email protected] and a project advisor will reach out to assist you. –HASupport
Never, never hire "Hanks painting" , he is a scam. He charged me 1800 for an 800 sqft house, with the agreement of painting the gutters. He not only didn't paint the gutters, the paint of the walls and front door is pealing off. He did not sand the door and the wall color is washing off. His people don't know the work and he much less than them since he painted the door.

• One room or the whole house? Applying one coat in one room is a reasonable DIY Saturday project (especially if you have help and beer). Multiply the time spent moving furniture, prepping walls and sanding old trim by the number of rooms in the house, and you might want to hire real help. It's the same outside. You can probably tackle one shady garage wall that needs a little scraping and sanding plus a coat of paint, but covering all surfaces of the house is usually best left to a pro.

"There's wisdom in a multitude of counsel" {Bible Book of Wisdom/Proverbs} I thank you all I learned so much here not only painting but contracting in general. After all this I realize how blessed my ignorance not taken advantage of by Greater Philadelphia area motivated young skilled pride-in-work honest hardworking + seasoned older employee of Scott Gribling Painting of Lansdale PA. I'm proud I had the idea that Tom Parkinson here taught me the phrase & affirmed paying daily "progress draws" & purchase receipts instead of advance deposit in case something happens to contractor, and as Tom teaches the natural effectiveness of receiving from the day's work :)

Every painting job develops a unique choreography as ladders go up and come down and tarps are unrolled and folded up. But two basic principles remain: 1) Start at the top and work down. 2) Work in the shade, out of the sun's glare. As the dance proceeds, keep an eye on the weather. Rain can wash freshly applied latex right off the wall, and a temperature dip below 50 degrees F two days after application can interfere with adhesion and curing and dull the sheen of glossy paints. (Latexes like Sherwin-Williams's Duration and Benjamin Moore's MoorGard Low Lustre are formulated to tolerate temps as low as 35 and 40 degrees, respectively.)
I had florida home painters paint my tri level. Joe is a nice guy and owner who quoted the job. He was very helpful and gave us a paint sample book to choose from. He help to suggest colors for the patio floors which was a nice compliment to the color of the house. His crew was fast and clean during the painting process. They used quality sherwin Williams paint the whole experience was great i would recommend checking them out for a quote
I totally agree with this as well. I think every time I have read Angie's List reports, they are inaccurate and not researched enough. I had COMPLETE faith in Angie but lately I am hesitate on reports. I would check your local hardware store or even your neighbors to get a recommendation for painters. If you liked what you saw, you can be stress free with your results. I live in Texas and I have borrowed my hardware store opinion bc that seems to be the place most of the contractors or painters come to buy stuff for the jobs. If your neighbors painters, contractors, electricians and plumbers have shown good results, stress free you. I have been stress free with results, glad I asked for other opinions.Don't forget, the Hardware Store knows if that person is trustworthy and honest, their accounts would be shut down.
Interior Painting and Restoration: Interior painting for antique buildings often means painting or papering over plaster, which cracks as the building settles and results in moisture stains. Arch Painting remedies these problems by filling and sanding cracks and applying bacteria-resistant primer over discolored areas. Need light carpentry renovations to provide a flawless foundation for your paint? We’re happy to accommodate.
Brighten up your home. From DIY lighting that adds both value and light to your house, to unique painting ideas that go beyond picking out paint swatches, our real-life homeowner stories and expert advice can illuminate every room. What house painting tips can make the job go quicker with fewer mistakes? Which lighting ideas can create just the right ambiance?
Interior Painting and Restoration: Interior painting for antique buildings often means painting or papering over plaster, which cracks as the building settles and results in moisture stains. Arch Painting remedies these problems by filling and sanding cracks and applying bacteria-resistant primer over discolored areas. Need light carpentry renovations to provide a flawless foundation for your paint? We’re happy to accommodate. You are right on with this - why do people leave switch plates on when it's just so easy to take them off? Another thing that happened to us - we had the popcorn ceiling taken off and the ceiling painted white. When the job was done and I later went to change out all the fixtures/fans, they had left every fixture in place, so there was a large patch of popcorn and unpainted ceiling left behind - it just didn't dawn on me to specify that they take those down before scraping and painting. It was kind of a mess.
I created The Idaho Painter as an alternative to big box DIY video shows that have actors who only act like they can paint but really can barely act. My mission is to teach everyone across the globe how to paint from the non-experienced to the long time professional. No experience is necessary. My channel is for the home improvement person, DIY painter, handyman professional, home and garden enthusiast, and even the professional painter.
If you have ornamental or colorful trees, shrubbery or floral selections around your home you should figure their colors into the color scheme selection that is made. These landscaping attributes will have an effect on how appealing the property is as a whole throughout the year. Homes that have a great deal of trees can make the property darker and cast shadows onto the home. Individuals will want to avoid darker colors for these situations.
Once work begins, hold brief daily meetings to discuss the job and schedule and quash any misunderstandings. If there are surprises, seek middle ground. No contract can anticipate every possibility. Materials may be unavailable. Large chunks of rotten siding may crumble along with the old paint. Exterior jobs may be stopped cold by a week of steady rain. But know that you'll pay extra if you change your mind about a color after the trim is already painted or otherwise add tasks to the project.
With that said, here's the reality of that particular scenario. Painters do put water in the paint, but not for reasons you would think. Some materials need to have their viscosity manipulated in order to slow drying time, allowing gravity to 'smooth' out the product for a better finish. It also prevents 'drags' and 'sausages'. I personally try not to do it too often, but from time to time I have to. I want my client to have a proper finish.
Once you’ve chosen the color schemes and paint, the next step is to start the home painting itself. If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, be sure to read up on proper painting procedure, from surface preparation right on down to finishing touches. Figuring it out as you go can be a valuable learning experience, but where painting is concerned it can also mean a lot of extra work and unsatisfactory results when it comes to the final product. If you think home painting might be a little out of your league, talk to an experienced painting contractor in your area about getting your house painting job underway so you can enjoy your beautiful new exterior paint job for years to come.
It is often necessary to have a rental property painted -- whether it's to make it your own before you move in or to clean it up for someone new when you move out. Some buildings and landlords have pre-selected painters, while others will contract companies to paint on an as-needed basis. If your landlord or building doesn't have a pre-selected painter, see if you may be allowed to paint the walls yourself. If you're moving in and selecting a non-neutral color, understand that your landlord may require you to repaint the walls the original color when you move out -- and ensure that you're ready to make that investment down the road.

I created The Idaho Painter as an alternative to big box DIY video shows that have actors who only act like they can paint but really can barely act. My mission is to teach everyone across the globe how to paint from the non-experienced to the long time professional. No experience is necessary. My channel is for the home improvement person, DIY painter, handyman professional, home and garden enthusiast, and even the professional painter.

For commercial clients, we create bright, professionally finished spaces to bring out the best in your work environment. Our painters show up at the agreed-upon date and time, and we finish the work on time and within budget. We also work closely with contractors on new construction to provide professional prep work, staining and painting for those finishing touches that make it a home. Apartment buildings are another specialty, with reliable service and quick turnaround.
I had florida home painters paint my tri level. Joe is a nice guy and owner who quoted the job. He was very helpful and gave us a paint sample book to choose from. He help to suggest colors for the patio floors which was a nice compliment to the color of the house. His crew was fast and clean during the painting process. They used quality sherwin Williams paint the whole experience was great i would recommend checking them out for a quote